Brent Venables defends his first season at Oklahoma with shot at Miami

Brent Venables speaks with the media. Photo Credit: DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables posted an underwhelming first season with the Sooners, but his argument, essentially, is that it could have been much worse.

Venables on Thursday defended his 6-7 record last season, not disputing that it was not good enough but arguing that he at least did better than his counterpart at Miami, Mario Cristobal. While he did not name Cristobal or Miami explicitly, his comparisons were obvious.

University of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables takes a shot at UM & Mario Cristobal. pic.twitter.com/0YuWgytS3m

— Canes Insider🍊 (@canesinsider1) July 13, 2023

“6-7, none of it’s any good,” Venables said. “Had we gotten blown out by a Middle Tennessee, had we gotten beat by Florida State 45-3, the conversation’s probably a little different.”

Venables’ point is that many of Oklahoma’s losses were close. Five of them were by one score or less, and the Sooners lost to Florida State 35-32 in the Cheez-It Bowl to end the season. His allusions to Miami are obvious, as the Hurricanes went 5-7 while losing 45-3 to Florida State and 45-31 to Middle Tennessee.

Venables comes off a bit defensive here, especially since Miami has been cleaning up in recruiting. Cristobal probably won’t take kindly to these comments, but it’s not as if the two schools will see each other this year unless it’s in a bowl game.